Maplelea Girls Wiki
Welcome to the Wiki Welcome to Maplelea Girls Wiki! Here, we learn everything about your favourite Canadian 18 inch dolls, Saila, Jenna, Léonie, Alexi, Brianne, Taryn, and Charlsea! These dolls are meant to be known, and here is the place to learn about them! Just create an account, and start the Maplelea magic! Avonlea’s first products were based on Canada’s storybook character, Anne of Green Gables. They quickly secured a position as the world’s largest distributor of “Anne” products and began to develop several new theme-based collections, including a large range of award-winning porcelain and play dolls, stationery, antique replica doll furniture, and other fine collectibles and giftware. In 2003, after more than a decade of research, Avonlea Traditions introduced the Maplelea Girls, a line of high quality, Canadian-themed 45 cm (18”) vinyl play dolls that are an inspiration to, and a reflection of, Canadian girls from coast to coast to coast. The Maplelea line experienced rapid growth in recent years and has made dolls their sole focus, with an ever-increasing range of products specially designed for girls aged 6 to 12. Though it was a bit of a risk developing a line of dolls for the comparatively small Canadian market, the overwhelming support from Canadian families helped them to expand their line to include 34 dolls and over 250 accessories, with new products being added all the time. Making of Maplelea As a mother with young children, Kathryn Gallagher Morton always thought carefully about the playthings she brought into her home. She was frustrated with the increasing number of diva-style dolls on the market that emphasized body image, dating and glamour. “Childhood is short enough; the last thing I wanted for my daughter was for her to wish it away.” Kathryn also wanted her children to be proud of their Canadian heritage. She was concerned with her children being presented primarily with American icons and media, and after seeing the demand for Anne of Green Gables products, she knew other Canadian parents felt the same way. Determined to “be the change,” Kathryn Gallagher Morton spent the 1990s researching the possibility of developing a series of Canadian-themed dolls that would reflect our country’s unique culture, heritage, and geography. Intense development work was done between 2000 and 2003 to bring this idea to reality. Kathryn began holding focus groups with girls, parents, and community members to get ideas and feedback about the characters she was developing. In addition to being age-appropriate and Canadian, Kathryn wanted the dolls to have an educational aspect to them. She felt that each character should come with a story. Four characters were developed. There was one from the Rockies (Taryn, Alberta), one from the prairies (Brianne, Manitoba), one from a big city (Alexi, Toronto), and one from a coastal community (Jenna, Nova Scotia). A Canadian sculptor was hired to create the original clay sculpture of the head, arms, and legs. The original face mould was based on a girl from Aurora, Ontario. Canadian writers living in the four areas the characters were from were hired to write the story journals, and a unique art and fashion style were developed for each Maplelea Girl. In addition to the dolls, a starter outfit and wardrobe for each character was developed. The outfits and accessories included footwear, sleepwear, sportswear, winter wear, and more. Feel free to add or edit but pls make sure your information is correct using the maplelea website. I will put a link. Category:Browse